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Photographic 

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iliustient  la  mdthodo. 


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Old  Lanterns  for 
Present    Paths 


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By  Francis  E.  Clark,  D.  D. 

President  of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 


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United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
Boston  and  Clucago 

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REV.  FRANCIS  V..  CLARK,   D.  D. 


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I.ibrHry  of  Cor  cir«4H 

Two  Copies  Rtan'to 
JUL    171900 

CopytigM  antiy 

SFCXm>  COPY. 

OrlivCMd  tn 

ORDER  OIVtSlON, 

JUL    18  1900 


Copyright,   1900, 

by  the 

United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 


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21224 


f  Cor  ciresh 
S   RtCTIVtl) 

7  1900 

',M  antiy 

[>COPY. 

WV<SI0N, 

8  1900 


CONTENTS 

OBAF,  PAOB 

I.  An    Old    Prophet's    Message    to    Yovno 

People 7 

II.  The  Sei'ket  of  National  Disaster  .       .15 

III.  The  Secret  of  National  Phosi'Erity  ...    18 

IV.  Turning  the  Face  to  God       ai 

V.    Peace  that  is  no  Peace 25 

VI.    People  that  Cannoi'  Blush 28 

VII.    Because — Therefore 31 

VIII.    The  Ethiopian's  Skin 34 

IX.    TiiE  Two  Ways 37 

X.    The  Unpopular  Side 40 

XI.    SouE  Grapes 43 


-2'";jf^rvm 


i. 
I 

I 

.J. 


By  Way  of  Introduction. 


IHE  messages  for  young  lives  which 
compose  this  little  volume  are  found 
in  the  book  of  J  erendah,  Tl'.ey  spoke 
— — '  strongly  to  my  own  heart  during  a 
long  and  lonely  voyage  on  a  tropic  sea,  and  I 
wrote  them  down  more  for  my  own  instruction 
and  inspiration  than  with  the  thought  of  pub- 
lishing them  for  others.  But  whatever  reaches 
one  heart  is  apt  to  reach  another.  Whatever 
helps  one  life  is  pretty  sure  to  help  anotlier. 

Hoping  that  this  little  book  nuiy  not  prove 
to  be  an  exception  to  this  nearly  universal 
rule,  I  send  it  on  its  way.  May  it  speak  some 
word  of  counsel  to  many  a  modest  youth  who 
like  Jeremiah  shall  grow  into  intrepid  man- 
hood. May  it  tell  the  secret  of  national  dis- 
aster and  national  prosj)erity  to  ma^  v  a  young 
patriot.  May  it  lead  its  readers  to  ..Mrn  their 
faces  to  God,  to  blush  only  for  sin,  to  choose 
the  right  way  however  unpopular,  and  to  emu- 
late the  example  of  the  bold,  uncompromising, 
yet  tender-hearted  prophet,  whose  message  the 
young  men  and  women  of  to-day  peculiarly 

need  to  heed, 

F.  E.  C. 


mmi 


t       iiiiwiwiaMffryii.',..' 


Old  Lanterns  for  Present  Paths. 


I. 

AN  OLD  prophet's  MES.  AGE  TO  YOUNG 
PEOPLE. 


TGIIT  from  the  past  often  illumines 
present  pathways.  As  the  light  from 
a  distant  star,  light  which  has  taken 
ten  thousand  years  to  reach  this  world, 
is  just  as  illumining  according  to  its  power  as 
the  light  of  the  electric  globe  which  the  most 
recent  invention  has  given  us,  so  wisdom  from 
the  sages  of  the  past  is  quite  as  trustworthy  as 
the  late  light  of  scientific  truth.  The  latter 
may  seem  more  brilliant,  because  it  is  nearer 
to  us ;  but  light  is  light,  and  truth  is  truth,  and 
it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  receive  it  and 
open  our  hearts  to  it,  from  whatever  source  it 
streams. 

A  pithy  prophet  of  old,  altogether  too  little 
studied  in  these  self-confident  days,  throws 
much  light  on  present  paths ;  and  I  shall  be 

7 


''W^Fwmj^mis^r. 


"s'53aBft:rs?isV'a5''?''S^;^r-pJ^?srt- 


8  OLD  LAM'EltSS  FUR  V RESENT  PATHS. 

glad  if  tliis  little  volume  opens  the  windows 
of  any  heart  to  the  divine  radiance  of  ancient 
truth. 

The  old  prophet,  Jeremiah,  the  light  of 
whoso  lantern  I  wish,  if  ])ossible,  to  cast  upon 
the  pathway  of  the  young,  seems,  before  all 
others,  the  young  people's  jirophet.  lie  was 
himself  a  very  young  nuin  when  he  began  to 
prophesy.  "1  am  but  a  child,"  he  says  of 
himself. 

lie  was  timid,  shrinking,  bashful  by  nature, 
but  bold,  uncompvoi'iising,  utterly  fearless  by 
grace,  lie  was  an  ardent  reformer,  a  good 
citizen,  a  mighty  advocate  of  righ  eousness. 
He  lived  in  troublous  and  eventful  times,  lie 
suffered  im])risonment  in  a  foul  and  miry  dun- 
geon for  righteousness'  s  ike.  He  stood  before 
kings  and  was  the  counsellor  of  monarchs. 
He  dared  to  take  the  unpopular  side. 

^loreover,  he  was  not  only  a  man  of  com- 
manding personality,  a  prophet  of  supernat- 
ural gifts ;  he  was  an  author  of  marked  indi- 
viduality. He  coined  pithy  phrases  which  are 
current  to-day.  He  was  a  master  of  a  terse, 
epigrammatic  style.  The  mere  student  of 
literature  is  surj)rised  to  find  that  many  of 
the  familiar  sayings  that  have  worn  well  for 
twenty-live  hundred  years  can  be  traced  to 
Jeremiah.       Witness    a    few    such    sayings : 


mdm 


AN  OLD  PROrilETS  MESSAGE.  9 

"Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace." 
"Tlie  harvest  is  past,  tlie  sinnuier  is  ended, 
and  we  are  not  saved."  "Is  there  no  bahii 
in  Gilesvd?  Is  there  no  j)liysician  there?" 
"  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  liis  skin,  or  tlio 
leopai'd  his  spots  ?  " 

And  yet  this  prophet  of  the  gentle  nature, 
but  of  the  bold  character,  this  f  jrerunner  and 
type  of  the  Cliristian  citizen,  this  brilliant  ))oet, 
this  racy  writer,  has  been  more  neglected  than 
almost  any  other  Scripture  writer. 

This  has  largely  come  about,  I  belie'  e,  be- 
cause Jeremiah  has  come  to  be  considered  only 
as  a  lugubrious,  doleful  foreboder  of  evil.  From 
his  very  name  a  word  has  been  coined  which, 
as  commonly  used,  denotes  a  rab[)ing  and  queru- 
lous complaint  of  the  existing  order.  A  "  jere- 
miad "  is  an  unpleasant  and  oi'teu  groundless 
denunciation  of  things  as  they  are. 

The  word  does  Jeremiah  much  injustice;  for 
this  modest,  brave,  unassuming,  intrepid  sou! 
spoke  only  as  he  was  compelled  by  a  high 
sense  of  duty,  by  the  unutterable  corruption 
of  the  people,  and  by  the  warning  voice  of  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

His  career  and  his  words  are  well  worth  the 
study  and  imitation  of  the  young  people  of  the 
present  day  who  would  be  not  only  good  men 
and    women,  but  good   citizens  and  eminent 


JS5Kjee5!S^  Ke'.ffi  >»r\ 


10        OLD  LAMEIiMi  FUR  VRKSENT  PATHS. 

Christians.     Let  us  consider  his  modest  youth 
and  intrepid  manhood  a  little  more  at  length. 

The  Modest   Youth. 

The  very  first  thing  that  we  know  about 
Jeremiah  jjredisposes  us  in  his  favor.  He  was 
a  modest  youth,  lie  shrank  from  puolicity. 
He  distrusted  his  own  powers. 

When  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  him, 
conveying  the  tremendous  news  that  he  had 
been  "  ordained  a  prophet  unto  the  nations," 
Jeremiah  cried  out  in  dismay,  "Ah,  Lord 
God  !  behold  1  cannot  sjjeak ;  for  I  am  a  child." 

Alost  great  and  strong  characters  whom  God 
signally  uses  are  at  their  base  modest,  shrink- 
ing, sensitive.  Perhaps  we  should  find  that 
all  men  who  have  been  most  useful  were  at 
first  self-distrustful,  could  we  but  know  their 
early  struggles.  Surely  it  was  so  with  Moses, 
David,  Elijah,  John  the  Baptist.  The  early 
days  of  many  a  modern  hero — Cromwell,  "Wash- 
ington, Grant — reveal  the  same  characteristic. 

God  seems  to  have  little  use  for  the  brag- 
giirt.  Time  and  circumstance  soon  prick  the 
bubble  of  self-conceit.  "  Seest  thou  a  man  wise 
in  his  own  conceit?  Tiiere  is  more  hope  of  a 
fool  than  of  him."  All  iiistory  is  a  comment 
on  the  truth  of  this  proverb. 

Jeremiah  possessed  the  first  requisite  of  real 


*». 


AN  OLD  PROPHET'S  MESSAGE. 


11 


greatness.  He  was  modest  and  humble.  He 
did  not  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he 
ought  to  think.  He  was  the  very  one  whom 
God  could  "  set  over  the  nations."  He  could 
be  made  "  a  defenced  city,  and  an  iron  pillar, 
and  brazen  walls  against  the  whole  lanil." 

O  young  man,  young  woman,  you  who  have 
used  your  shrinking,  modest  disposition  as  an 
excuse  for  not  doing  special  and  earnest  serv- 
ice; you  who  have  stutfed  your  ears  with 
the  wax  of  bashfulness  when  God  has  spoken ; 
you  who  have  said  with  Moses,  "Send  by 
whom  thou  wilt  send,  by  any  one  but  me,"  know 
you  that  this  '  ery  disposition  which  you  have 
urged  as  your  excuse  is  your  qualiiication. 

If  yours  is  a  genuine,  and  not  a  false,  hypo- 
critical, modesty,  it  is  the  foundation  mortar 
in  which  may  be  embedded  the  "iron  pillar" 
and  "brazen  wall"  of  the  "defenced  city." 
Do  not  longer  envy  your  companion  his  as- 
surance and  confidence  and  unblushing  sang 
froid.  It  is  more  likely  that  God  has  given  to 
you  the  stirring  message,  the  important  life- 
work,  than  to  him.  If  necessary,  the  Lord  can 
put  forth  his  hand  and  touch  thy  mouth  as  he 
did  Jeremiah's,  and  say  unto  thee,  "  Behold  I 
have  put  my  word  in  thy  mouth." 

Use  not  thy  bashful  modesty  as  a  stone  of 
stumbling ;  use  it  as  a  stepping-stone  to  a  large 


^-^ 


l->        OLD  LANTERXS  FOR  PRESEST  PATHS. 

and  noble  life.  Speak  tlie  stumbling,  hesitat- 
ing word  that  (iod  gives  thee  to  speaic. 
It  is  his  word.  Do  the  unaccustomed  act 
from  which  thou  dost  shrink,  though  thou  dost 
it  with  awkward  and  bungling  lingers,  if  it  is 
for  liis  sake. 

The  modest  man  tl\at  yet  dares  to  speak  for 
God  and  do  the  right  has  always  been  God's 
chosen  man. 


The  Intrepid  Man. 

The  shrinking  child  develops  into  the  in- 
trepid man.  His  life  vvi*s  passeil  amid  stress 
and  storm,  lie  was  t/ie  unpopular  man  of 
his  time.  lie  was  always  foreboding  evil.  Cab- 
sand  ra-like,  he  was  seldom  believed.  His  pre- 
dictions were  not  immediately  fulfilled,  and 
between  the  date  of  the  prophecy  and  its  ful- 
filment people  had  time  to  jeer  and  scoff  and 
berate  the  seer. 

Jeremiah's  own  neighbors  and  kindred  hated 
him.  In  the  little  village  of  Anathoth,  three 
nules  north  of  Jerusalem,  where  he  was  born 
and  where  his  early  life  was  sj)en<"  he  discov- 
ered a  plot  against  his  life  which  was  barely 
frustrated.  But  this  did  not  turn  him  from 
his  mission  or  silence  his  message. 

He  lived  under  at  least  four  kings  whose 
hopes  and  wishes  were  thwarted  by  his  proph- 


AN  OLD  PliorilET'S  MESSAGE. 


13 


ecies.  But  lie  was  never  imizzletl.  False 
prophets  on  every  side  predicteil  prosperity, 
and  uttered  smooth  sayings  wiiich  pleased  the 
princes  and  nobles;  and  Jeremiah  saw  the 
way  to  royal  favor  and  worldly  happiness 
made  very  plain  ;  but  he  never  s])ake  with  ly- 
ing lips  the  message  which  (iod  gave  him 
not. 

Patriotism  seemed  to  demand  that  with  the 
clamorous  false  prophets  he  should  incite  the 
people  to  an  alliance  with  Egyi)t  rather  than 
advise  them,  as  he  constantly  did,  to  submit  to 
the  yoke  of  Babylon.  But  for  the  latter  course 
he  had  the  "  thus  saith  the  Lord,"  and  not  for 
the  former ;  and  he  never  hesitated  as  to  hia 
message. 

Perhaps  the  period  most  trying  to  his  faith 
and  courage  occurred  during  the  reign  cf 
Zedekiah,  a  well-meaning,  but  v,'eak  and  vacil- 
lating, prince,  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
placed  upon  the  throne,  causing  him  at  the 
same  time  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
Babylon  in  the  name  of  Jehovah. 

In  an  evil  day,  however,  Zedekiah  listened 
to  false  counsellors,  repudiated  his  allegiance 
to  Babylon,  and  sought  alliance  with  Egypt. 
Jerusalem  was  besieged.  The  armies  of  Egypt 
came  to  her  defence.  At  first  it  seemed  that 
the  allied  forces  would  conquer.     The  armies 


14        OLD  LANTEliXS  FOR  PRESENT  PATHS. 


of  Nebuchadnezzar  withdrew  for  a  littlOj  and 
the  siege  wa?  raised.  Then  in  tlio  midst  of 
tlie  general  rejoicing  Jeremiah  was  denounced 
as  a  croaker,  a  false  prophet,  a  traitor  to  his 
country.  "Thou  fallest  away  to  the  Chal- 
deans," they  said.  By  a  personal  enemy  he 
was  apprehended,  beaten,  bastinadoed,  and 
thi'ust  into  a  noisome  dungeon. 

But  the  king,  Zedekiuli,  was  more  tender- 
hearted, and  brought  him  out  of  his  miry 
prison-house,  and  asked  anxiously,  "Is  there 
any  word  from  the  Lord  ?  " 

Here,  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  was 
Jeremiah's  chance.  A  single  "  smooth  "  proph- 
ecy, and  all  would  have  been  well.  Many  a 
bold  man,  whoso  spirit  has  been  broken  by 
the  scourge  and  the  prison-house  has  recanted 
under  similar  circumstances.  Not  so  Jere- 
miah. 

"  Is  there  any  word  from  the  Lord  ?  " 

"There  is,"  answered  the  uncompromising 
prophet.  "  Thou  shalt  be  delivered  into  the 
hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon." 

O  brave,  strong,  modest,  undaunted  spirit  1 
may  we  learn  thy  secret  of  uncompromising, 
unswerving  allegiance  to  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
May  we  dare  to  be  Jeremiahs.  May  we  dare 
to  stand  alone  against  a  hostile  world,  if  need 
be,  the  Lord  our  only  fortress  and  high  tower. 


^m 


■\ 


,''**S*' 


^ts2^^ 


.^gii^^^^^rfl 


II. 


THT5  SECRET  OF  NATIONAL  DISASTER. 

HE  burden  of  Jeremiah's  long  wail  of 
woe  is  the  sin  of  the  people  of  Israel, 
which  brought  disaster  and  destruc- 
tion in  its  train.  There  are  lifty-two 
chapters  in  the  book  that  bears  his  name,  and 
the  burden  of  almost  every  one  is  summed  up 
in  the  twenty -fifth  verse  of  the  Dfth  chapter: 
"  Your  iniquities  have  turned  away  these 
things  [prosperity  and  abundant  harvests], 
and  your  sins  have  withholden  good  from 
you." 

It  is  the  old,  old  message,  that  needs  ever  to 
be  reiterated.  Noah,  Nathan,  Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel,  John  the  Baptist,  and  in  later 
days  Luther,  Savonarola,  Wilberforce,  Park- 
hurst,  have  taken  up  the  same  message,  and  in 
many  tongues,  in  many  lands,  have  summoned 
the  people  to  awake  to  righteousness. 

Thank  God  for  the  host  of  young  reformers, 
unknown  to  fame  and  the  newspapers,  but  not 
unknown  to  God,  whom  the  recent  good- 
citizenship  movement  has  aroused  from  lelh- 

15 


T 


lo        OLD  LANTEHMi  t'OK  VUKSEUT  PATHS. 

argy,  and  wlmse  l)urning  dcsiro  it  is  to  niake 
Amorica  a  people  wliuso  Cuvl  is  ttio  Lord.  All 
these  will  lind  in  .loreiiiiaLi  und  liig  book 
studies  of  supremo  interest. 

Uore,  then,  is  Jeroniiaii's  message  condensed 
into  a  sentence  :  "  Your  sins  have  withholden 
yood  from  vou.'" 

All  history  is  but  a  commentary  on  this 
verse.  A  nation  is  not  permanently  prosper- 
ous because  of  the  vast  extent  of  her  fertile 
acres,  i)ecause  of  her  genial  climate  or  inex- 
haustil)le  resources.  If  this  were  so,  stunly, 
mountainous  Switzerland,  ice-clad  Norway, 
fog-enveloped  England,  rock-bound,  sterile 
]\Iassachusetts,  would  have  but  a  small  place 
in  the  family  of  states. 

There  is  another  element  that  enters  in  to 
make  a  nation  strong  or  weak,  powerful  or 
puny.  Wo  may  say  it  is  the  only  element,  be- 
cause it  is  O'ad.  There  is  a  God  of  nations, 
and  upon  every  page  of  history  since  time  be- 
gan is  stamped  this  legend:  "  Your  sins  have 
withholden  good  fror.i  you." 

Jeremiah's  prophecy  is  one  of  the  greatest 
of  treatises  on  good  citizenship,  because  in 
every  line  it  recognizes  this  tremendous  truth. 
Read  it  ihrough  with  this  for  the  key-thouglit, 
and  its  treasures  are  unlocked.  O  youthful 
citizen,  it  is  no  less  true  to-day  than  in  the 


THE  SEVlillT  OF  RATIOS AL   DlSASTElt. 


17 


days  of  the  prophet  of  Anathoth.  There  is 
hut  one  ultimute  source  of  national  disaster, 
and  that  is  national  sin.  When  combating  the 
evils  engendered  by  national  greed  and  pride 
and  debauchery  and  oppression,  you  are  light- 
ing for  your  nation's  life. 

God  is  not  upon  the  side  of  the  strongest 
battalions.  All  history  brands  as  a  lie  ihis 
monstrous  piece  of  cynicism.  God  is  on  the 
side  of  righteousness  and  justice  and  purity. 

The  bacillus  of  every  national  disease  that 
ever  decimated  a  people  is  the  same.  The 
source  of  every  national  disaster  can  always  be 
spelled  with  three  letters, — s-.-n.  "Your 
Bins  have  withholden  good  from  you." 


—^ 


<r«iri"-'i'.ii!i'>ilirViilit»ii^«i<IM-  I  lil  li'iliii 


III. 


THE  8FXRET  OF  NATIONAL   PROSPERITY. 

DF  the  one  source  of  national  disaster  is 
turning  away  from  God  to  sin,  it  is 
very  evident  that  the  one  secret  of  re- 
covered national  prosperity  is  turning 
back  to  God  from  sin.  So  we  should  be  sur- 
prised if  we  did  not  lind  in  Jeremiah  this  key- 
note, recurring  in  almost  every  chapter: 
"Truly  in  vain  is  salvation  hoped  for  from 
the  hills,  and  from  the  multitude  of  moun- 
tains ;  truly  in  the  Lord  our  God  is  the  salva- 
tion of  Israel."    (Jer.  iii.  23.) 

This  is  one  of  the  truths  that  has  become  a 
truism,  but  it  is  a  truism  which  in  every  gen- 
eration needs  to  be  recovered  from  the  obscur- 
ity of  familiarity.  A  man  recently  told  me 
that  he  had  lived  all  his  life  in  London,  but 
had  never  seen  the  Tower,  There  are  many 
people  in  Buffalo  who  have  never  seen  Ni- 
agara Falls,  and  tens  of  thousands  in  Boston 
who  have  never  climbed  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment.    So  there  are  millions  of  intelligent 

18 


mm 


W 


RITY. 

aster  is 
n,  it  is 
t  of  re- 
turning 

be  sur- 
lis  key- 
lapter : 
r  from 

moun- 
B  salva- 

come  a 
ly  gen- 
obscur- 
old  me 
on,  but 
5  many 
3en  Ni- 
Bostoa 
Monu- 
elligent 


TUE  SECRET  OF  AATIOXAL  PllOSl'ElilTV.     19 

people  in  the  world  who  have  lived  nil  their 
lives  with  this  towering  fact  staring  tliem  in 
the  face  from  every  yugo  of  history,  but  have 
never  seen  it.  There  are  multitudes  in  whoso 
oars  has  been  sounding  as  with  cataraet  roar 
this  tremendous  truth  spoken  by  the  voice  of 
God  himself:  "  Obey  my  voice,  and  I  will  be 
your  God,  and  ye  sluill  bo  my  people; "and 
yet  they  have  never  heard  it. 

"Who,  when  he  stops  to  look  and  listen,  can 
doubt  that  Jeremiah  is  right?  Who  can 
doubt  that  if  to-morrow  the  United  States  of 
America,  or  Great  Britain,  with  all  her  col- 
onies, should  become  in  very  tnith  a  God-fear- 
ing nation,  a  Christian  nation  in  every  ace  as 
well  as  in  name,  it  would  enter  upon  such  a 
career  of  dazzling  prosperity  as  the  world  has 
never  seen  ? 

The  billions  of  dollars  spent  for  strong 
drink  would  be  received  and  consecrated  to 
noble  uses;  the  millions  of  lives  worse  than 
wasted  in  debauchery  and  sin  would  be  re- 
deemed, and  would  contribute  to  the  building 
up  and  not  the  pulling  down  of  the  state ;  and 
the  energies  of  the  nation  now  running  to 
waste  like  the  foul  waters  of  an  open  sewer, 
polluting  the  very  atmosphere,  would  be  con- 
served and  used  every  hour  in  turning  the 
mill-wheels  of  national  prosperity ;  and  thus 


20 


OLD  LANTERNS  FOR  PRESENT  PATHS. 


.:  t 


would  be  inada  a  history  more  splendid  and 
brilliant  than  human  pen  has  ever  narrated. 

Then  know,  O  young  men,  from  this  glorious 
vision  of  a  possible  nationality  that  you  are 
serving  your  country  best  when  you  are  serv- 
ing God  best. 

You  are  not  acting  the  part  of  a  true  patriot 
only  when  you  are  attending  the  primaries, 
or  depositing  your  ballots  at  the  polls  for  a 
righteous  candidate,  or  speaking  on  the  hust- 
ings for  national  honor.  You  are  performing 
a  patriot's  duty  when  teaching  a  Sunday  class 
of  poor  children,  when  leading  a  Christian 
Endeavor  meeting,  Avhen  giving  your  time  and 
energy  to  an  obscure  lookout  committee  or 
prayer-meeting  committee,  when  leading  one 
soul  to  Christ,  when  in  any  way  you  are  turn- 
ing the  feet  of  the  people  back  to  God.  Thai 
is  good  citizenship.  That  is  true  loyalty. 
That  is  doing  your  little  best  to  make  your 
beloved  land  truly  prospr  ^ous. 


IV. 


TURNING  THE   FACE  TO  GOD, 


HE  book  of  Jeremiah  is  famous  for 
its  graphic,  pungent  phrases,  phrases 
that  live  and  breathe.  Here  is  one  of 
them.  Jehovah,  speaking  through  his 
prophet  of  rebellious  and  idolatrous  Israel, 
says,  "  They  have  turned  their  back  unto  me, 
and  not  their  face." 

We  turn  our  back  on  God  when  we  forget 
him,  going  about  our  own  ways,  seeking  our 
own  ends,  thinking  our  own  thoughts.  God 
is  not  in  any  of  our  thoughts.  We  do  nothing 
with  reference  to  his  glory.  We  order  our 
lives  solely  with  reference  to  gain  and  pleas- 
ure. Then  we  turn  our  back  on  God,  We 
turn  our  back  to  God  when  Ave  deliberately 
sin.  No  man  can  commit  sin  looking 
steadfastly  into  God's  face.  We  instinctively 
feel  that  his  eyes  are  too  pure  to  behold  in- 
iquity. As  the  child  will  not  go  to  the  for- 
bidden cupboard  to  steal  the  sweets  when  his 
mother  is  in  the  room,  so  God's  child  will 

21 


,-«* 


22        OLD  LANTERNS  FOR  PRESENT  PATHS. 

never  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit  looking  in  his 
i'^ather's  face. 

Futile  as  man's  attempts  may  be  to  get 
away  from  the  all-seeing  Ej-^e,  he  will  always 
turn  his  back  to  God  before  he  commits  delib- 
erate sin. 

The  results  of  sin,  as  well,  cause  us  to  turn 
the  back  to  God.  As  a  result  of  sin  we  are 
ashamed  to  look  God  in  the  face.  Of  the  Is- 
raelites of  old  the  Lord  said  through  Jeremiah : 
"  As  the  thief  is  ashamed  when  he  is  found,  so 
is  the  house  of  Israel  ashamed,  .  .  .  say- 
ing to  a  stock.  Thou  art  my  father  ;  and  to  a 
stone,  Thou  hast  brought  me  forth :  for  they 
have  turned  tiieir  back  unto  me,  and  not  their 
face."  (Jer.  ii.  20,  27.)  So  our  faces,  once 
turned  away  by  sin,  remain  averted  from 
shame ;  and  we  sulk  and  hang  our  heads,  per- 
haps, in  bitterness  and  despair. 

Fortunately  the  very  figure  of  speech  which 
indicates  departure  from  God,  with  all  its  at- 
tendant woe  and  shame,  suggests,  by  way  of 
contrast,  the  return  to  God.  To  sin  is  to  turn 
the  back ;  to  repent  is  to  turn  the  face  to  God. 
So  simple  and  yet  so  radical  is  the  great  truth 
of  salvation.  It  can  be  accomplished  in  a  mo- 
ment, but  it  involves  a  complete  turning  a|)out. 
Almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  can  the  face 
be  turned,  but  it  must  be  turned.     There  f  j  no 


TUBNING   THE  FACE  TO  GOD. 


23 


salvation  while  the  face  is  averted  by  sin,  while 
the  eye  is  downcast  by  despair,  while  the  coun- 
tenance is  hidden  in  sulky  shame.  Many  defi- 
nitions of  what  it  is  to  become  a  Christian 
have  been  given:  this  is  one  of  the  best: 
"  Turning  the  face  to  God."  There  is  life  in  a 
look. 

Young  man,  young  woman,  you  long  to 
knew  your  relationship  to  God.  Here  is  a 
test.  Can  you  look  God  in  the  face?  Can 
you  write  down  your  deeds  and  words  and 
secret  thoughts,  and,  looking  up  into  the  face 
of  your  Father,  say,  "  Here  is  my  life,  O  God ; 
let  thy  blessing  rest  upon  it "  ?  Or,  when  you 
think  of  your  life,  or  some  portions  of  it,  do 
you  avert  your  face  from  the  all-seeing  One  ? 

Do  not  think  it  is  a  timid,  scared  life  you 
would  live  with  God's  eye  ever  consciously 
upon  you.  The  child  playing  on  the  nursery 
floor  is  not  abashed  or  made  uneasy  by  its 
mother's  presence,  but  in  every  new  game  and 
fresh  childish  joy  looks  up  into  her  eye  for  the 
answering  smile  it  is  sure  to  find.  The  joy  is 
not  complete  unless  the  mother  sees  and 
shares  it.  So  the  Christian's  chief  joy  and 
satisfaction  is  that  God  sees  him,  and  that  he 
can  see  God  in  all  the  trivial  round,  the  com- 
mon task  of  life. 

There  is  another  side  to  this.    God  turns 


\ 


24        OLD  LANTERNS  FOR  PRESENT  FATES. 

his  back  to  those  who  persistentl}'  turn  their 
backs  to  him.  "  I  will  show  them  the  back, 
and  not  the  face,  in  the  day  of  their  calamity," 
says  Jehovah  through  Jeremiah.  Oh,  terrible 
calamity  !  Oh,  awful  curse  !  Oh,  sad  conden- 
sation of  all  the  woes  of  this  woful  prophecy ! 
But  upon  us  this  curse  need  never  fall ;  for,  if 
we  turn  the  face  to  God,  even  though  we  are 
in  the  far  country,  we  shall  see  him  coming 
out  to  meet  us  with  the  robe  and  the  ring,  and 
turning  upon  us  his  reconciled  face. 


!4 


<3^ 


iit!£A^,iahfj.f>!tiiVtn- 


I  their 
back, 
nity," 
jrrible 
)nden- 
(hecy ! 
for,  if 
ive  are 
0  tiling 
g,and 


/i 


r 


V. 


PEACE  THAT  IS  NO  PEACE. 

^^j--,  JE  of  the  greatest  temptations  of  Jere- 
I  J  miah's  life  must  have  been  to  cry, 
JiM  "Peace,  peace,"  when  there  was  no 
peace.  It  is  always  easier  for  sensi- 
tive souls  to  speak  smooth  words  than  rough  ; 
and  Jeremiah  was  essentially  a  gentle,  sensi- 
tl.-e  man.  It  is  never  pleasant  to  be  regarded 
as  a  Cassandra.  Considerations  of  patriotism 
seemed  to  demand  that  he  should  hearten  the 
people  rather  than  discourage  them.  King 
and  prince  and  people  alike  asked  for  words 
of  cheer  and  hope  rather  than  of  woe  and 
denunciation;  but  Jeremiah  would  not  heal 
slightly  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  his  peo- 
ple ;  he  would  not  cry,  "  Peace,  peace,"  when 
there  was  no  peace. 

The  individual  is  the  nation  in  miniature; 
and  there  is  false  peace  which  we,  like  the  Is- 
raelites, seek  to  cherish,  against  which  some 
intrepid  Jeremiah  should  warn. 

There  is  a  peace  of  false  doctrine.  The  phi- 
losophies of  atheism,  materialism,  utilitarian- 

S6 


--".(iiw'/-AciVi>^> 


20 


OLD  LANTFnXS  FOR  PliESENT  PATHS. 


isin,  all  bring  a  certain  satisfaction  to  their  vota- 
ries. In  a  measure  their  speculations  satisfy 
the  craving  of  the  insatiable  mind.  Even  the 
absurdities  and  hopelessness  of  pessimism, 
which  finds  the  universe  an  absolute  tangle, 
life  a  huge  mistake,  the  world  a  dreary  waste 
of  suffering  and  woe,  governed  by  the  great 
malevolent  Unconscious,  furnishes  a  kind  of 
satisfaction  to  Schopenhauer,  llartmann,  and 
their  followers.  But  who  can  doubt  that  it  is 
a  peace  which  is  no  peace  ? 

Tliare  is  a  peace  produced  hy  indifference  to 
truth.  The  call  to  repentance,  once  resisted, 
when  repeated,  sounds  ever  fainter  and  fainter. 
There  are  men  who  can  sit  unmoved  under  the 
most  searching  gospel  appeals.  Why  ?  Be- 
cause of  the  peace  born  of  familiarity  and  in- 
difference. These  a^ime  truths,  presented  in 
the  same  way,  in  boyhood  aroused  those  same 
men  to  an  agony  of  concern.  But  the  con- 
cern was  quieted ;  the  grieved  spirit  ceased  to 
strive,  and  the  opiate  of  indifference,  frequently 
administered,  has  produced  a  peace  which  is  no 
peace. 

There  is  a  peace  produced  hy  sin.  The  sin- 
ful deed  that  when  first  indulged  terrifies  and 
horrifies  us,  when  oft  repeated,  loses  all  its 
horror.  At  first  it  seems  as  if  the  very  pit 
of  perdition  were  yawning  at  our  feet;  but 


PEACE   THAT  7.9  XO  PEACE. 


27 


each  repetition  of  the  act  fills  up  the  pit  and 
plants  a  grove  of  sensuous  tlelightsin  its  place. 

It  is  the  old,  old  story.  "VVe  lirst  endure, 
then  pity,  then  emhrace.  The  leprosy  of  sin 
eats  into  the  vitals  little  by  little,  until  the 
living,  sensitive  flesh  becomes  as  dead  and 
insensitive  as  the  wood  of  a  graven  image. 
This  is  an  awful  peace,  that  is  no  peace, — the 
peace  of  corruption  and  death. 

But  there  is  a  peace  that  Is  peace,  the  peace 
of  which  our  Lord  speaks  with  reiterated 
emphasis,  the  peace  which  he  left,  the  peace 
which  the  world  cannot  give,  which  the  world 
cannot  take  away.  This  is  the  peace  which 
the  prisoner  for  righteousness'  sake  has  known 
in  the  dungeon,  which  the  mother  has  known 
at  the  coffin  of  her  firstborn,  which  the 
martyr  has  known  on  the  rack  and  at  the 
stake. 

Is  this  peace  abiding  ? 

The  saints  of  all  the  ages  answer,  Yes. 

Does  it  endure  the  stress  and  strain  of  care 
and  sorrow  and  sufl'ering  ? 

Martyrs,  prophets,  priest,  confessors,  answer 
Yes. 

Is  it  for  you  and  me  ? 

Ten  million  humble  souls  in  all  the  ages, 
their  faces  transfigured  with  its  radiance,  an- 
swer, Yes. 


VI. 


PEOPLE  THAT  CANNOT  BLUSH. 


flag 


HE  blush  that  reddens  the  cheek  may 
be  a  sign  of  conscious  sin.    The  pallid, 
unblushing  cheek  may  be  a  sign  of 
greater  sin.     Shame  hangs  out  its  red 
for  misdeed  or  mistake.     Shamelessuess 


strikes  its  colors,  and  shows  no  sign  of  dis- 
tress. 

It  is  a  sad  thing  when  a  man  cannot  blush. 
"  Were  they  ashamed  when  they  had  com- 
mitted abomination  ?  "  said  Jehovah  speaking 
through  Jeremiah.  "Nay,  they  were  not  at 
all  ashamed,  neither  could  they  Hush ;  there- 
fore shall  they  fall :  in  the  time  of  their  visita- 
tion the}'  shall  be  cast  down,  saith  the  Lord." 

Shameful  shamelesshess  brings  this  dreadful 
reward :  "  I  will  surely  consume  them,  saith 
the  Lord  ;  there  shall  be  no  grapes  on  the 
vine,  nor  figs  on  the  fig-tree  ;  and  the  leaf  shall 
fade ;  and  the  things  that  I  have  given  them 
shall  pass  away  from  them." 

Is  this  too  hard  a  sentence,  too  dire  a  fate  ? 
88 


PEOPLE  TUAT  C'J^YAOi'  BLUtSU. 


2tf 


"We  cannot  think  so  when  we  realize  what 
inability  to  blush  for  sin  involves. 

UnUnshing  sin  mea7is  j)i'rsuie7it  sin.  The 
first  time,  the  tenth  time,  the  one  hundredth 
time,  the  soul  blushes  for  itself  in  secret;  and, 
if  discovered,  the  red  cheek  shows  the  red 
shame  beneath.  But  the  thousandth  time  the 
sin  has  become  so  familiar  and  customary  a 
thing  that  it  excites  no  uneasy  surprise,  and 
the  telltale  cheek  records  no  emotion.  It 
cannot  blush. 

UnUushing  sin  means  sin  unrepented  of. 
Sin  repented  of  and  forgiven,  even  unto  sev- 
enty times  seven,  does  not  wholly  indurate 
the  heart.  True  repentance  and  confession 
keep  the  soul  fresh  and  sensitive  and  sweet. 
Unblushing  sin  no  longer  wishes  to  repent  or 
sees  the  necessity  of  repentance,  and  at  last 
the  soul  no  more  feels  contrition  than  a  mar- 
ble statue  can  display  remorse. 

Unblushing  sin  is  hopeless  sin.  Not  be- 
cause the  sin  itself  may  be  worse  than  other 
sins,  but  because,  from  the  very  nature  of  it, 
sorrow,  repentance,  forgiveness,  restoration, 
cannot  follow.  The  Magdalen  could  be  for- 
given ;  the  harlot  could  be  counted  among  the 
worthies  of  faith  ;  David  could  be  restored  to 
divine  favor,  because,  when  he  heard  Na- 
than's "  Thou  art  the  man,"  he  could  blush,  and 


1 


mmm 


T 


:u) 


ULD  LJiV7'£'A'AVS  FOli  I'iiKSEXT  PATHS. 


cry  out  in  anguish,  "  Aguinst  tlioo,  thee  only, 
have  I  sinned."  But  for  the  unbhishing  sin- 
ner there  is  no  hope.  This  is  the  unpardon- 
able sin.  This  is  the  sin  that  grieves  and 
drives  away  the  Spirit  of  God.  This  is  the 
sin  that  renders  the  heart  insensitive,  callous, 
unblushing,  so  that  repentance  and  faith  are 
as  impossible  as  pain  is  to  a  leper's  dead  and 
bloodless  tinger-tips. 

O  God,  keep  us  from  the  dreadful  fate  of 
the  man  who  cannot  blush. 


T 


only, 
ir  sin- 
rdon- 
.  and 
s  the 
llous, 
;h  are 
d  and 

Lte  of 


I 


'O-^- 


>%,;  ^V 1 


i"^'-  -'^Vf 


^SfegS^^ 


VII. 

BECAUSE — TIIEKEFOKE. 

OULD  that  we  could  always  see  the 
"theuefoue"  follow  the  "he- 
cause"  in  actual  lil'e  as  plainly  as 
we  can  see  them  upon  the  printed 
page.  "  And  the  Lord  saith,"  wrote  Jeremiah, 
"  Because  they  have  forsaken  my  law  which 
I  set  before  them,  and  liave  not  oboyod  my 
voice,  neither  walked  therein  .  .  .  tiieue- 
FORE,  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of 
Israel,  Behold  I  will  feed  them,  even  this  peo- 
ple, with  wormwood,  and  give  them  water  of 
gall  to  drink." 

The  "J<?m««<;"is  always  followed  by  the 
^'■therefore.''''  Kot  at  once,  perhaps.  In  this 
chapter  of  Jeremiah  after  the  "  iem?<se "  we 
have  to  look  through  two  brief  verses  before  we 
find  the  "  therefore.''''  Thirty-six  words  inter- 
vene, but  the  "  therefore  "  follows  none  the  less 
surely.  Sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not 
always  speedily  fulfilled,  but  it  is  always  ful- 
filled.    The  wormwood  always  follows  the  for- 

31 


3-2        OLD  LAyrEliX^  FUH  PUKSKyT  PATHS. 

saUiii;,';  tlio  water  of  f,'all  tho  (lisobedionce. 
St'iirch  history  tliroii'^'li,  and  toll  mo  whether 
you  can  find  a  myj;[ti  instance  in  nation  or 
taniily  where  ^odh-ssness,  dehaiiciiory,  and  dis- 
obedience of  the  hiws  of  (iod  l>roiij,dit  perma- 
nent peace  and  prosijority.  linliesitatingly  I 
(hire  to  cliallenge  the'htrictest,  most  careful  re- 
search where  tho  history  of  nation  or  family 
can  bo  seen  as  a  whole. 

To  be  sure,  we  sometimes  see  a  little  segment 
of  a  disobedient  life,  and  think  it  prosperous. 
We  fret  ourselves  because  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  wicked.  But,  when  wo  undcrstanil  "  their 
end,"  we  see,  as  did  the  Psalmist,  how  foolish 
anil  unreasonable  was  our  fretting.  The  seem- 
ing prosperity  is  only  the  interlude  between 
the  "  because  "  and  the  "  therefore:'  When  we 
see  enough  of  the  arc  of  a  man's  life  or  a  na- 
tion's life,  we  always  see  that  there  isa"M«?ye- 
fure  "  as  well  as  the  "  hecaiise." 

'^Because'"  not  only  always  is,  but  always 
must  be,  followed  hy  "•  therefore:''  It  is  not 
a  mutter  of  coincidence ;  it  is  a  matter  of  ne- 
cessity. It  is  not  an  abstraction  of  theology. 
It  's  a  nuitter  of  science,  of  physics,  of  law.  If 
tl  1)  effect  does  not  follow  tho  cause,  God  is  not 
God.  Tho  throne  of  the  universe  is  abdicated 
if  "  hecmise  "  has  no  "  therefore:'' 

These  truths  are  so  trite  and  threadbare  that 


(S. 

lionce. 
bother 
ion  or 
lul  (lis- 
l)erina- 
ingly  I 
id'ul  re- 
I'liiuily 

?ginent 
porous. 
;rity  ot 
"  tlioir 
foolisli 
e  soeia- 
etweon 
hen  we 
)r  a  na- 
"  there- 

always 
is  not 
r  of  ne- 
eology. 
aw.  If 
d  is  not 
idicated 

Eire  that 


} 


BECAVUL-^TllKlU'.FOlii:. 


33 


one  fools  like  apologizing  for  their  restatement. 
Ah  I  but  tiu'ir  application  to  every  indivi(biul 
life  can  never  become  a  worn-out,  useless  task. 
Kvery  man  must  reiilize  tbc^  inevitable  coming 
^' therefore"  in.  bis  own  life,  if  bo  would  not 
make  shipwreck  of  it.  It  is  the  lack  of  this 
that  has  brought  to  many  a  fair  young  lil'o 
recklessness,  misery,  perdition. 

I'iit  there  is  a  brighter  side.  Thank  (jod, 
there  is  many  another  and  many  a  blessed 
** because"  and  ^'■therefore"  Because  repent- 
ance, therefore  life.  liecavse  faith,  therefore 
salvation.  liecanse  trust,  therefore  peace. 
Jieeuuxe  self-surrender,  therefore  fulness  of  joy. 
And  these  causes  and  these  elfects,  thank  God 
again,  are  just  as  inevitable  and  just  as  neces- 
sai'y  as  those  which  Jeremiah  records. 


U 


■ajM'ihiTftsnJ  rrijMJ-     ■* 


VTII. 
THE  Ethiopian's  skin. 


ANY  of  Jeremiah's  pithy  sayings 
have  passed  into  current  proverbs ; 
and  all  literature  does  tribute 
to  him,  though  often  unconsciously. 
None  of  his  trenchant  phrases  have  been  caught 
up  by  more  lips  or  printed  upon  more  pages 
than  this:  "Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his 
skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots  ?  " 

Often  as  this  familiar  phrase  is  used,  its  true 
signilicance  is  seldom  realized.  It  relates,  as 
Jeremiah  used  it,  to  the  persistence  of  charac- 
ter. "  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or 
the  leopard  his  spots  ?  Then  may  ye  also  do 
good,  that  are  accuf>tomed  [or  taught]  to  do 
evil."  The  last  part  of  the  verse,  though  sel- 
dom quoted,  is  quite  as  important  as  the  first 
part. 

There  are  two  ans\yerc  to  the  question,  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  each  other,  but  equally 
true :  No,  Yes.  Can  an  Ethiopian  change  his 
skiii?    No.    Character  tends  to  fix  itself .    The 

84 


THE  ETHIOPIAN'S  SKIN. 


35 


evil  stain  becomes  ever  more  indelible.  The 
bad  thought,  repeated  and  repeated  and  re- 
peated over  again,  becomes  at  last  a  part  of  the 
texture  of  the  soul.  It  is  woven  into  the  life 
as  the  black  figure  is  worn  into  the  carpet.  It 
seems  as  impossible  to  get  it  out  of  the  soul  as 
to  get  the  constantly  recurring  figure  out  of 
the  carpet  without  destroying  it.  The  evil 
deed,  repeated  until  it  becomes  habitual,  be- 
comes no  mere  act,  accomplished  and  done 
with ;  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  man  as  truly  as 
the  black  skin  is  a  part  of  the  Ethiopian  or  the 
spots  are  characteristic  of  the  leopard. 

Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin  ?  Alas ! 
alas !  no.  It  becomes  only  blacker  and 
blacker.  But  ask.  the  question  once  more 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  gospel  of  grace. 
Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin?  Yes, 
yes,  ten  million  blood-washed  Ethiopians  an- 
swer, Yes.  This  is  the  "miracle  of  grace." 
Salvation  consists  not  in  emotion,  in  hallelu- 
jahs, in  raptures,  in  the  acceptance  of  a  body 
of  doctrine.  It  is  the  whitening  of  the  Ethi- 
opian's skin,  the  changing  of  the  leopard's  in- 
born spots.  It  is  the  learning  to  do  good  of 
those  who  are  accustomed  to  do  evil. 

Will  cannot  do  this.  Vows,  pledges,  a 
mother's  tears,  a  wife's  heart-broken  entreaty, 
none  can  chr  nge  the  spots ;  but  in  a  multitude 


38 


OLD  LAA'TEItXS  FOB  PHESENT  PATHS. 


of  cases  tlie  Holy  Spirit  has  wrought  this 
Avondrous  change,  and  the  blackened  soul  has 
become  whiter  than  snow. 

All  history  is  full  of  these  transformations. 
Our  own  limited  observation  and  exjierience 
have  furnished  added  examples.  It  is  of  no 
use  to  dispute  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  or  that 
the  stars  shine  at  night.  There  they  are ;  look 
at  them.  How  is  the  change  wrought  ?  By 
the  complete  surrender  to  God  of  the  whole 
being,  black  skin,  leopard  spots,  bad  hai^its, 
hardened  ways,  perverse  views,  everything, 
with  the  sincere  prayer  that  he  would  hence- 
forth take  and  change  and  cleanse  and  keep. 

By  God's  grace  the  Ethiopian  can  change 
his  skin,  the  leopard  can  change  his  spots. 


^mm 


this 
lius 


ions, 
ence 
f  no 
tliat 
look 

'^hole 

limits, 

liing, 

ence- 

ep. 

ange 


IX. 

THE  TWO   WAYS. 

EKEMIAII  is  noted  for  his  directness 
and  clear-cut  simplicity.  He  never 
confuses  issues.  There  is  a  right  and 
a  wrong.  There  is  life  and  death. 
There  is  obedience  and  prosperity,  and  diso- 
bedience and  destruction.  The  whole  message 
of  his  more  than  forty  years  of  prophesying  is 
condensed  into  the  eighth  verse  of  the  twenty- 
first  chapter:  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  Behold 
I  set  before  you  the  way  of  life,  and  the  way 
of  death. " 

In  this  particular  instance  the  way  of  death 
meant  remaining  in  the  besieged  city  of  Jeru- 
salem ;  the  way  of  life  meant  going  out  to  the 
Chaldeans,  in  accordance  with  the  command 
of  God. 

But,  whatever  the  circumstances,  whatever 

the  century,  there  are  always  two  ways,  and 

only  two  ways,  open  to  the  feet  of  man :  one, 

the  way  of  life ;  the  other,  the  way  of  death. 

To  be  sure,  one  often  seems  to  come  to  th© 

37 


ftt:^  ';y",«gj«v,ggi»iJ!W,'jtw?r' 


?-.■-?■  j!-g^y5^fsym^*?ig^--'-'.g?fit.V"je'.'i.T-".^ 


38 


OLD  LANTERNS  FOR  PRESENT  I'ATUS. 


crossroads  where  four  ways  meet,  or  to  a  wliole 
network  of  converging  streets ;  but  careful 
scrutiny  will  resolve  the  seeming  jumble  of 
highways  into  two.  All  on  one  side  converge 
into  the  right-hand  road,  all  on  the  other  into 
the  left-hand,  after  running  a  little  way,  just 
as  some  paths  go  over  the  hill  and  some 
around,  but  all  come  together  on  the  other 
side. 

This  thought  greatly  simplifies  the  prob- 
lems of  life.  There  is  always  God's  w^  y  and 
the  devil's  way.  Becoming  a  Christian  is  but 
choosing  God's  way.  Blindly,  gropingly, 
stumblingiy  we  may  enter  upon  this  way  at 
first;  frequent  by-paths  into  flower-covered 
swamps,  where  our  feet  sink  into  the  mire  of 
sin,  may  tempt  us  from  the  king's  highroad  ; 
but  little  by  little,  if  our  purpose  is  to  walk  in 
God's  road,  we  find  it  growing  more  fully  de- 
fined, more  attractive,  more  easy  to  the  feet. 

There  is  also  Satan's  way,  and  he  who 
chooses  it  finds,  whatever  its  twistings  and 
turnings,  however  it  seems  sometimes  to 
double  upon  itself,  that  it  leads  inevitably  and 
always  in  one  direction. 

The  Way  of  Life  !  The  Way  of  Death  I  Do 
not  think  that  these  are  phrases  of  the  Bible 
alone.  Human  experience  is  full  of  them. 
The  right  iv.  the  way  of  life.    Ask  the  saint ; 


THE  TWO   WAYS. 


39 


ask  the  martyr  who  followed  this  way  until  it 
led  him  into  the  flames  or  the  wild  beasts' 
den  ;  ask  the  commonplace,  every-day  Chris- 
tian who  has  actually  walked  with  God  ;  and 
without  a  single  exception  they  will  all  tell 
you  this  is  the  way  of  life,  joyous,  full,  ecs- 
tatic life,  life  more  abundant.  The  wrong  is 
always  the  way  of  death.  Ask  the  drunkard ; 
ask  the  diseased  libertine ;  ask  the  miser  ;  ask 
the  selfish  sensualist;  and  their  wizened, 
shrunken,  atrophied  characters,  if  not  their 
words,  will  tell  you  that  this  road  leads  to 
death. 

But  what  are  right  and  wrong,  the  roads 
that  lead  to  life  or  death  ? 

The  same  now  as  in  Jeremiah's  day.  Eight 
is  obedience  to  God,  and  obedience  is  life. 
Wrong  is  disobedience  to  God,  and  disobedi- 
ence is  death. 


«■ 


i'.^  •  ■ '  .-^-ijMMcnw's^-^  ■  ct"^^ 


•? 


)t 


THE   UNPOPULAR  SIDE. 

ERE;MIAII  was  on  the  unpopular  side 
all  his  life.  It  was  not  his  fault,  but 
his  misfortune.  With  his  shrinking, 
sensitive  soul  it  must  have  been  genuine 
torture  to  him  to  be  in  constant  opposition  to 
all  the  le)  'ling  men  of  his  time. 

Nor  was  it  especially  to  his  credit  that  he 
was  on  the  unpopular  side.  It  was  to  his 
credit  that  he  dared  to  be  on  the  right  side ; 
but  the  right  side  is  sometimes,  nay,  often,  I 
am  glad  to  believe,  the  popular  side ;  and  the 
reformer  has  the  grateful  task  of  leading  on 
to  victory  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  people. 

Not  so  with  Jeremiah.  He  was  always  in 
opposition  to  the  people,  because  the  people  of 
his  day  were  always  in  opposition  to  God. 
He  was  always  prophesying  evil,  because  there 
Avas  no  good  to  predict  concerning  their  dis- 
obedient ways. 

Most  trying  of  all  the  experiences  in  his  life 
must  have  been  the  time  when  he  was  com- 

40 


•{ 


THE   rXfOl'CLAR  SIDE. 


41 


'i%^ 


i. 


pelled  to  tell  the  jjcople  that  it  was  God's 
will  that  they  should  submit  to  the  Chaldean 
invader,  to  show  the  white  fla<^  of  truce  to  the 
despoiler  of  their  city,  and  unresistingly  to  go 
into  captivity  to  Babylon.  How  pusillanimoua 
and  cowardly  he  must  have  seemed  ! 

How  unfortunately  he  contrasted  with  the 
other  high-stepping,  spirited  pro|)hets,  who 
counselled  resistance  to  Babylon,  and  alliance 
with  Egypt,  and  fighting  for  their  liberties  to 
the  bitter  end  1  They  must  have  posed  as  the 
reformex's,  the  statesmen,  the  noble-minded 
patriots.  II-  was  the  traitor,  the  coward,  the 
white-livere<^  poltroon. 

The  reform  shibboleth  is  not  always  the 
watchword  of  obedience  to  God.  The  cheap- 
est kind  of  popularity  can  sometimes  be  won 
under  tiie  banner  of  reform. 

In  thepe  days  especially  we  need  not  only  to 
try  the  spirits,  but  to  try  the  reforms.  Many 
a  popular  fad  may  be  picked  up  to  furnish  a 
rallying-cry.  It  requires  no  courage  and  few 
brains  to  sound  it.  To  be  a  fanatic  is  not 
necessarily  the  sign  of  courage  or  divine 
wisdom.  To  ramp  and  rave,  and  denounce 
the  times,  and  pour  out  bitter  invective  against 
the  real  or  supposed  evils  of  the  day,  is  not  a 
sure  sign  of  the  true  prophet. 

To  most  Jews  just  before  the  Babylonian 


42 


OLD  LANTERNS  FOR  PRESENT  PATHS. 


captivity  the  false  prophets  who  counselled  re- 
sistance to  lialn'lon  to  the  l)loo(ly  end  must 
liave  seemed  the  real  reformers.  Jeremiah 
must  have  seemed  the  slow  conservative,  with 
his  talk  about  giving  up  the  city  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's army.  The  question  is  not  what  is 
popular,  but  what  is  right.  To  be  deemed 
a  coward  may  require  the  sublimest  courage. 
There  is  but  one  real  test  of  courage  or  cow- 
ardice, of  wisdom  or  folly ;  there  is  but  one 
test  of  the  true  reformer.  Is  l:e  obedient  to 
God's  will  ?  Is  his  reform  God's  reform  ? 
Jeremiah  always  stood  this  test. 


r 


ns. 

lied  re- 
1  must 
remiah 
e,  with 
)uchad- 
viiat  is 
leemed 
Durage. 
or  cow- 
)ut  one 
lient  to 
ef  orm  ? 


'^c^J^-^ 


XL 


SOUR  OHAPES. 


EREMIAIl'S  great  life-work  was  to 
bring  home  to  the  people  of  Israel  a 
sense  of  their  personal  accountability. 
"  Because  of  you/'  sin  utter  destruction 
shall  come  upon  you."  "  Because  you  have 
turned  your  back  to  God,  God  hath  turned 
his  back  to  you,"  was  his  constant  message 
reiterated  under  many  forms. 

It  is,  then,  vevy  like  him  to  deny  the  truth 
of  the  familiar  old  proverb,  "  The  fathers  have 
eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth 
are  set  on  edge."  "  No,  no,"  he  says ;  "  this 
is  not  so ;  but  every  one  shall  die  for  his  own 
iniquity;  every  man  that  eateth  the  sour 
grape,  his  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge." 

This  la  a  good  message  for  the  modern 
young  man  or  woman  to  ponder. 

"We  hear  much  in  these  days  about  environ- 
ment and  heredity,  and  we  sometimes  come 
to  regard  ourselves  with  a  kind  of  complacent 
pity  as  the  victim  of  circumstances  over  which 

43 


4 J        OLD   LASmiXS  FOH   mrsi-lST  PATHS. 

WO  Imvo  no  coiitfol.  Tho  evils  iiml  sorrows 
from  wliicli  we  are  suffering,  unci  the  sins  to 
wliich  we  tire  pr  me,  wo  lay  to  the  sour  grapes 
which  our  fathers  have  eaten. 

Away  with  all  such  silly  self-pity  !  For  our 
own  iniquity  we  suffer  and  die.  With  our 
own  hands  we  have  plucked  the  sour  grapes  ; 
with  our  own  lips  we  have  pressed  the  juice 
that  has  set  our  teeth  on  edge. 

Wo  have  nuide  a  failure  in  life?  AVhy  ? 
Not  because  our  father  was  poor  and  illiterate, 
and  gave  us  small  advantages  of  education 
and  a  home  without  books  or  literary  culture. 
Many  a  man  has  overcome  all  these  dilliculties 
and  far  more  serious  ones,  and  has  made  for 
himself  a  good  and  honored  name.  AVhy, 
then,  have  not  we  ?  Because  we  have  neg- 
lected to  make  use  of  the  opportunities  we 
have,  our  life  is  the  comparative  failure  that  it 
is. 

"We  are  frequently  overcome  by  some  beset- 
ting sin,  and  we  lay  it  to  our  disposition,  the 
temi)erament  inherited  from  father  or  mother, 
so  hasty,  so  passionate,  so  i)rone  to  untruth ! 
(),  let  us  be  honest  with  ourselves  at  least 
while  we  read  this  page,  with  no  eye  on  us 
but  God's.  It  is  our  own  indulgence  in  anger 
and  evil  thought  and  deceit  that  has  given  our 
disposition  its  terrible  tyranny. 


Lore. 


THS. 

sorrows 
e  sins  to 
r  grapes 

For  our 
nth  our 

grapes ; 
the  juice 

Why? 

11  iterate, 
(lucation 
culture, 
lliculties 
made  for 
AVhy, 
ave  neg- 
lities  we 
•e  that  it 

ne  beset- 
tion,  the 
'  mother, 
untruth ! 
at  least 
;ye  on  us 
in  anger 
riven  our 


SULK  UliAl'ES. 


45 


Or  wo  mourn  our  iutliirerence  and  coldness, 
our  backsliding  and  lack  of  religious  vigor  and 
vitality;  and  in  languid  self-pity  wo  lay  it  to 
our  worldly  surroundings,  our  al)sorbing  busi- 
ness, i)ur  peculiar  environment.  And  again 
we  deceive  ourselves,  or  try  to  deceive  our- 
selves, for  in  our  heart  of  hearts  wo  know 
that  it  is  our  own  self-indulgent  souls  alone 
t!iat  are  responsible  for  our  estranueiuent  from 
(iod  and  for  our  lack  of  joy  and  vigor  in  his 
service. 

This  lesson  lies  at  the  beginning  of  all 
lessons.  It  is  the  first  in  the  primer  of  the 
deeper  I'hristian  life.  It  is  the  beginning  of 
a  return  from  worldliness.  It  is  the  precursor 
of  better  days;  for  we  see  that  in  our  own 
hearts  alone  we  must  begin  the  reform,  when 
we  fully  realize  that  our  teeth  are  set  on  edge 
because  we  ourselves  have  eaten  the  sour 
grapes  of  disobedience  and  departure  from 
God. 


fC. 


liH 


' 


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